This invention relates to an improvement in a rotary type power lawn mower wherein the improvement consists in having in connection with a grass cutting blade a plurality of pulverizing members such as flails or hammers driven by the drive shaft of the cutting blade to reduce to a small size the grass and other material drawn into the mower housing and initially cut by said cutting blade and discharging the pulverized material through an apertured screen forming an upper portion of the mower housing surrounding the pulverizing members, said pulverized grass and other material forming a mulch for the cut area. Power mower as used hereinafter relates to a rotary type of power mower used for cutting grass.
A conventional power mower is particularly adapted to cut grass and to discharge the cuttings through a chute. The housings of such mowers are generally equipped for the attachment of an apertured plate member over the opening in the housing leading to the discharge chute for the purpose of having the blade grind up or pulverize the cuttings. In practice, it has been found that a power mower with such an arrangement tends to become filled up and clogged with cuttings and that discharge of such material through an apertured plate member is ineffective. The tendency to clog is aggravated by the presence of moisture in the cuttings. An attempt to cut up leaves and sticks in the fall of the year in cleaning up a lawn also results in a clogging up of the mower housing.
It has been found that by increasing the height of the mower housing and by installing therein a plurality of pulverizing members in the form of flails or hammers at the upper portion of the drive shaft which carries the cutting blade, that grass, leaves and other material drawn into the housing by the action of the cutting blade is reduced by the action of the pulverizing members to such small size that it is all readily discharged through an apertured plate member which forms the upper wall portion of the mower housing about said pulverizing blades.
It is an object of this invention therefore to provide a power mower on the order of a conventional type of such a mower which embodies for operation in conjunction with the grass cutting blade pulverizing means carried by the drive shaft of said cutting blade to effectively pulverize the grass, leaves and other materials drawn into the housing and initially cut by the cutting blade.
It is another object of this invention to provide a pulverizing attachment for use in connection with a power mower which may be readily detached and removed from the mower.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a pulverizing attachment for use in connection with a power mower which effectively pulverizes leaves, sticks, stubble and other material in addition to grass cuttings.
It is more specifically an object of this invention to provide a power mower comprising a housing having a drive shaft therein carrying a cutting blade at its lower end portion and having a plurality of pulverizing members carried thereon spaced upwardly of said cutting blade and said housing having an apertured wall portion about said pulverizing flails for the discharge of pulverized material.